IT’S BORIS BY A LANDSLIDE
HE WINS TORY CROWN BY 92,153 TO 46,656 AND HEADS TO No 10 TOMORROW
BORIS JOHNSON was tonight preparing to move into 10 Downing Street after winning the Tory leadership contest.
He beat rival Jeremy Hunt by a clear margin of 92,153 votes to 46,656. But another minister resigned just before the result was declared, representing a cold dose of reality about the political problems Mr Johnson faces in delivering Brexit.
Education minister Anne Milton said in a letter of resignation that she had “grave concerns” about the dangers of leaving the European Union without a deal. The former deputy chief whip wrote: “This has not been an easy decision to make but I believe strongly that Parliament should continue to play a central role in approving a deal, and that we must leave the EU in a responsible manner.”
She follows Sir Alan Duncan, who quit as a Foreign Office minister yesterday, and it comes before the expected departures of Chancellor Philip Hammond, Justice Secretary David Gauke and International Development Secretary Rory Stewart. Arriving for Theresa
May’s final Cabinet, Mr Stewart, who stood unsuccessfully for the leadership, confirmed he will return to the backbenches to oppose no deal.
Asked if he would serve under Mr Johnson, Mr Stewart replied: “No.”
Mr Johnson today adopted the mantle of prime minister-in-waiting with a pledge to bring in “a new era of the cando spirit”.
He vowed to work “flat out” and asked Britons to “believe in ourselves” and shake off the national torpor over Brexit. The prize would be the country reawakening “like some slumbering giant”.
“Thank you all for the incredible honour you have done and I will work flat out to repay your confidence,” Mr Johnson was set to say after the result of the Tory leadership contest was announced at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster. “Because the time for campaigning is over and the time for work begins.”
A final draft of his acceptance speech, finished two hours before the announcement, showed Mr Johnson reaching out to Tory MPs and the country with a plea for unity.
“We are going to get Brexit done and take advantage of all the opportunities that it will bring in a new era of the cando spirit,” he wrote.
“We are once again going to believe in ourselves and what we can achieve, and like some slumbering giant we are going to rise and ping off the guy ropes of self-doubt and negativity.”
Mr Johnson penned a warm tribute to Mrs May, for “her extraordinary service to this party and this country”.
He cited her campaigns to improve mental healthcare and to close the gender pay gap as key legacies.
And he hailed Mr Hunt, the Foreign Secretary, as “a great opponent” in the battle for the keys to No 10. Mrs May moves out tomorrow afternoon.
His draft speech then painted a picture of a Britain finding its confidence again and a Government moving from Brexit to focusing on delivering longdelayed domestic policies.
“And with better education and more police and fantastic infrastructure and full fibre broadband sprouting in every household we are going to unite this amazing country and take it forward,” he wrote.
Mr Johnson will start drawing up his first Cabinet after getting the traditional desk-thumping welcome from Conservative MPs at a meeting of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers tonight.
In another reminder of the challenges facing him, Philippe Lamberts, a member of the European Parliament’s Brexit steering group, said that Mr Johnson “will be confronting the exact same situation as Theresa May”.
Senior Tories privately said the Government’s working majority looked in danger of vanishing.
The Tory-DUP majority was reduced to just two yesterday when Dover MP Charlie Elphicke had the Conservative whip suspended after he was charged with sexually assaulting two women, which he denies.
It could be reduced again next week if the Tories lose the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election.
The historic day started with leadership rival Mr Hunt exclaiming, “All to play for!” when asked if he had given up hope of winning while out on his morning jog. Mr Johnson entered his campaign headquarters in Westminster at just after 8am for a meeting with his team and to finish his speech. Asked if he agreed with Mr Hunt, he echoed: “All to play for.”
Shortly after ministers assembled for Mrs May’s last Cabinet at 10 Downing
Street, a bouquet of flowers was delivered. A removal van is expected to come tomorrow when she will tender her resignation to the Queen after taking her final Prime Minister’s Questions in the Commons.
Former defence secretary Sir Michael Fallon claimed Mr Johnson’s optimism and fresh mandate would help shift Brussels towards a deal.
“Nobody is aiming for no deal, that is not the strategy,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“We want a better deal, Parliament wants a better deal, and Boris Johnson has made clear throughout that he wants a better deal.” But Mr Lamberts, a Green MEP, said: “Boris Johnson is known to want many things and often contradictory things like having your cake and eating it — he is on record saying that.”